UAE, India sign CEPA deal; aim for $ 100 b trade

The UAE and India have recently signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) that is likely to boost the bilateral non-oil trade from $ 40 billion, which is a pre-pandemic figure, to $ 100 billion in the next five years.

The strategic agreements were signed in the virtual presence of Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, by senior officials in India’s 

capital New Delhi.

CEPA was signed during a meeting between the Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and UAE delegation led by Minister of Economy Abdulla bin Touq Al-Marri and State Minister of Foreign Trade Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi.

The UAE-India CEPA is expected to usher in a new era of economic cooperation and unlock greater avenues for trade and investment.

The two countries had signed a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2017.

Sheikh Mohamed and Premier Modi discussed various aspects of the strategic partnership between the two countries and new prospects for its development.

During the summit, the two sides discussed cooperation opportunities in various fields, especially development, investment, economic and health, in addition to advanced technology, artificial intelligence, renewable energy, food security, transport and other aspects that both nations consider to be priorities in their current and future development plans, within the framework of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, signed by the two countries in 2017 and their common interest in developing it, based on the strong historical relations.

Sheikh Mohamed and India’s Prime Minister also reviewed a number of regional and international issues and exchanged views on strategic topics of common interest.

Prime Minister Modi added that the unprecedented negotiations between the two countries have led to the conclusion of the CEPA in less than four months, adding that both countries share the same approach of converting crisis into an opportunity and synergising complementarities and strengths. He expressed his confidence that this agreement will set out a new era in bilateral ties between the UAE and India, expressing his pleasure to join Sheikh Mohamed in witnessing the signing of CEPA.

The Prime Minister expressed his admiration for the UAE’s projects and plans for the next 50 years, and said that India also intends to maximise its efforts for the next 25 years to realise the vision of ‘Swarnim Bharat’. 

He pointed out two important areas where the UAE and India can collaborate to realise their goals: “First, Start-ups. We need to encourage India and UAE based start-ups coming up in new and emerging technologies through joint-incubation programs, joint-financing, etc. Second, skills and mutual recognition of qualifications.”

He stressed that the common desire to work with like-minded partners opens up new frontiers of cooperation, expressing his confidence that the India-UAE-Israel-USA Quartet will enhance their collective goals, with a potential for a tripartite between India, UAE and France. “We can direct our officials to explore opportunities in this regard, and we will continue to cooperate in the UN Security Council on issues of global importance,” he added.

For his part, Sheikh Mohamed pointed out that the signing of the agreement in 2017 marked a historic shift in the course of their relations in the fields of trade, investment, energy and other vital areas, noting that non-oil trade between the UAE and India increased by 66% in 2021 compared to 2020.

His Highness added that the signing of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement today represents a qualitative leap in both countries’ economic and developmental march and demonstrates a strong will to devote all available opportunities for the benefit of our peoples.

Sheikh Mohamed said that the agreement, which is the first of its kind, is among the economic projects set by the UAE for the next 50 years, which include concluding comprehensive economic partnership agreements with eight global strategic markets, foremost of which is the friendly nation of India.

He expressed his thanks and appreciation for the role of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in strengthening relations between the two countries over the past years and his keenness to develop them further across various fields.

“All these great successes in the course of our bilateral relations could only have been achieved as a result of the close historical, cultural and social ties that exist between the UAE and India. This provides a strong basis for always moving forward to expand the basis of our common interests for the good of our people and fulfil their aspirations for development and prosperity,” said Sheikh Mohamed.

The agreement marked a ‘milestone’ in the bilateral relations, which will lead to a “glorious, shared future”, India’s External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar said in an exclusive statement to WAM news agency.

“The signing of the UAE-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement during a virtual summit between our leaders is a milestone event in our bilateral relations,” Dr. Jaishankar said.

“It will open new opportunities in both trade in goods and services, and will lead to enhanced investments,” he added.

“A vision document [signed during the virtual summit] will provide contours for future growth of our bilateral relationship for a glorious, shared future. Overall, the two [CEPA and the vision document] will deepen our strategic partnership.”

The UAE-India CEPA negotiations started five months ago.

In an interview with WAM in October, Indian Minister for Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles Piyush Goyal, had said CEPA would help both countries serve larger international markets.

“It [CEPA] will not only help the post-pandemic recovery and bring back growth into both countries, but also serve the people of both countries, provide jobs in both countries, expand economic activities and help us serve the larger international markets in a bigger way,” Goyal said.

The UAE is India’s third largest trading partner and accounts for approximately 40% of its trade with the Arab world.

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed visited India in 2016 and 2017, while the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, visited the UAE in 2015, 2018 and 2019.